"It is a day that should never be forgotten and never, ever commercialized," he said in the statement. "I commit AT&T to this standard as we move forward."

Here's the full statement:

We’re big believers that social media is a great way to engage with our customers because the conversation is constant, personal and dynamic.

Yesterday, we did a post on social media intended to honor those impacted by the events of 9/11. Unfortunately, the image used in the post fell woefully short of honoring the lives lost on that tragic day.

I want to personally express to our customers, employees, and all those impacted by the events of 9/11 my heartfelt apologies. I consider that date a solemn occasion each year, a time when I reach out to those I was with on that awful day, share a moment of reflection for the lives lost and express my love of country. It is a day that should never be forgotten and never, ever commercialized. I commit AT&T to this standard as we move forward.

AT&T's attempt at acknowledging the anniversary of the Sept. 11 with a tweet and Facebook post using the phrase "never forget" may be remembered for all the wrong reasons.

Like many brands, AT&T made the decision to join the social media conversation about the anniversary, but it did so by including a picture that looked a little too much like product placement. Here is a screengrab of the tweet, which has since been deleted:

We've reached out to AT&T for comment about their thinking for the 9/11 post and will update when we hear back. The company did however post an update on Twitter apologize to anyone who was offended by the original tweet:

We apologize to anyone who felt our post was in poor taste. The image was solely meant to pay respect to those affected by the 9/11 tragedy.

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